Resurrection
by Razanur
Summary: It's been twenty years since Battle City, and most people have forgotten about the Sennen Items. But after Seto Kaiba's death, Mokuba is willing to do anything to get him back. Rated for violence. Ch. 4: The King of Thieves wouldn't lose a Shadow Game...
1. All Who Live To See Such Times

Welcome, one and all, to a very dark, strange, twisted fic. I own the plotline and various OCs added for flavor (kids, etc, not any main characters). I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I suppose you would have to call this AU. According to this, the series ends right after Battle City. No Atlantis, no Egypt Arc. I wrote out some of what happened immediatly afterwards, but it was slow and dragged the plot. It's still pretty interesting, and it's relevant, I suppose, but it's not nessecary. If you want the backround info, e-mail me. Be sure to put "Resurrection" in the subject or I'll just delete it.

One thing from the later arcs that did happen in the timeline of this story was Dark Bakura (who, for the purposes of this fic, will be called Bekhura) giving the Sennen Eye to Seto Kaiba. I'm also assuming, as so many have done, that Kaiba also ends up with the Rod.

Mokuba was, according to me, around eight at the end of Battle City. Joey and Mai were sixteen, Serenity twelve; everyone else was fifteen. That was in 2004. The story picks up in 2024, making Mokuba twenty-eight and the others thirty-five (or so).

When yamis and hikaris speak, a yami's mindlink words are surrounded in hyphens, and a hikari's in slashes, thus: -dark- /light/ I wanted to put hikari thoughts in tildes, but won't let me. Feel the hatred... It won't let me indent either; I don't know why, and I apologize. And I'm irritated.

That'll be the longest author's note, I promise.

_Chapter One  
_All Who Live to See Such Times

Ryou Bakura was out for an evening stroll, pondering his life. It was an amazing thing, really, that a childhood full of missing parents and friends who did not care, teen years notable only for the beatings and hatred of a dark side within, could somehow blossom into a life full of joy and wonder. Now he could wake in the mornings beside his wife Miho, pregnant again, and feel that he was spilling over with cheer.

He spun around and strode back quickly, a sudden desire to be with his family filling him. His shoes clicked on the grey pavement. There was his house, small and white, there was the driveway, covered in chalk drawings. There was the porch, there was the door, there was the window and inside was light and Miho and his daughter and he could smell dinner cooking, but before he could go in he had to cross the yard, and standing before him in shadow was someone he did not know.

"May I help you?" Ryou asked pleasantly, masking his antsiness.

"Yes. You can. The Sennen Ring, Bakura. You've got it, and I want it."

"What?" Ryou said, greatly surprised.

-_What?_-echoed the King of Thieves within him.

"I challenge you to a Shadow Game. If you lose, you must give up the Ring," the man said. He was sneering at the obvious shock on Bakura's face. No one had asked Ryou about the Ring in years.

"Who are you?" he asked, shrinking away slightly.

"It doesn't matter. But I want the Sennen Ring."

Bakura surrendered his body to his clamoring dark side. His crewcut exploded suddenly in a vision of white; where he had kept his hair closely cropped, Bekhura had let his grow to a huge, unruly mane. "Oh yes, it matters. The Ring is mine, and I plan on keeping it. Who are you to lay a claim on its power?"

"I need its power far more than you. Come, our game begins."

"I have no reason to join you in a shadow game."

"If you refuse me, I will channel my anger towards your family."

_/NO!/_ came the wild thought of Ryou, shattering for just one second the barrier between physical and spiritual, two angered faces peering from the same dark eyes.

"I can protect them," Bekhura growled, both in retort and to calm his light half.

The man laughed. "Oh yes, Bakura the Powerful will stop me from harming his precious child! Surely, you could stop the might of one measly Sennen Item!" He lifted the Rod in his hands. "But what of two?"

"Two?" came the hissed reply. The light of the house danced along his hair and sparkled in his eyes, reflected and refracted till he was a blaze of firey white light. But the other man seemed to draw the darkness around him as a cape. There was a single spot of brightness on that shadowed face, and the two Bakuras realized together that it was not his skin that bounced back the light -- it was the gleam of gold...

/The Sennen Eye!/

-So I see.-

/But you gave that to Kaiba./

-Kaiba had the Rod as well. So we have no way of knowing who this is.-

/After Kaiba's death, anyone could have taken them.../

-Exactly.-

/Do not risk this, yami. We must take his challenge. Two Items could destroy our life, and I will not risk harm to Miho or little Amane./

-Even Eye and Rod together are no match for the Sennen Ring, but we will have to accept.-

/What?/

"I see what you hide," Bekhura said aloud, Ryou questioning in the back of his mind.

"You draw my trump card for me!" the man said, laughing again. "Yes, yes, I hold more than two Items. Want to see?" A pale hand reached into a thick woolen cloak, plucking the Sennen Ankh and Scales from some hidden pocket. "Now you realize that there is no way for you to protect yourself. I repeat my challenge. Will you join me for a Shadow Game?"

-It cannot be!-

/Four... _four _Items?/

-Not that, Ryou! Think! _Shadi_ holds the Scales and Ankh, and this is _not _Shadi!-

/That would mean... Shadi has been defeated./

-It is impossible! But...-

/We have to take his challenge now./

-Yes.-

/We have no choice./

-Yes.-

/I... I... I don't... I think... but.../

Bekhura severed the mindlink abruptly as his hikari started to stammer. "I accept your challenge. Shall we duel?"

"Oh, good. You will be joining me in the Shadow Realm -- how marvelous! No, Duel Monsters is not the game. Come, I have it all set up."

They moved quickly around the house. The man called instructions from over his shoulder. "It is very simple, really. We each tie a rope around ourselves, and whoever makes it to the roof first wins."

Bakura wondered absently when this strange man had entered his backyard and attached ropes to the roof. But there they were, hanging like thin grey snakes that writhed in the growing moonlight.

"Whoever makes it to the roof?" Bekhura spat out. "The _roof_? Ha! You dare challenge the King of Thieves to a simple house-scaling!" He laughed -- cackled, rather.

"No."

Bekhura stopped laughing. "No?"

"No."

"And if we do not climb, how do you propose we get up there?"

"We will be pulled."

"Really. And by whom?"

"By those who would pull us. Anyone who truly cares for you will be up there. Any lack of trust you have will weaken the rope. Climbing," he smirked, "is not allowed."

-Anyone who cares? I have not truly lived for five thousand years! Who even knows that I exist?-

/Well, me. That's about it./ There was a quiver in Ryou's mental voice that denied the bravado in his words.

-Even if there was one up there, I would not trust them,- he hissed in angered reply.-This is madness.-

"Ready?" the man called mockingly, as if he knew their thoughts. "Game start!"

Please review -- constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Namaarie, Raz


	2. Who Above All Else Desire Power

Now we backtrack a little. This starts in 2018, then moves up again through the next couple chapters to 2024. When you see Bakura again, just keep going from where chapter one ended. It's not that hard. I'm probably worrying about it too much.

Also, just so you know, this is PG-13 for a reason. There's drug use in this chapter, and later there is some graphic violence. No sex, though, nothing like that. I'm not very good at writing love stories.

Oh, and this uses the anime storyline, other than what I've already told you. There's one major difference between the anime and manga tales, but if I told you, I would give away much of the plot. But I didn't want the manga fans to attack me when I used part of the anime in my tale... oi vey.

_Chapter Two_  
Who Above All Else Desire Power

Three very seperate things came together quickly, one after another, to change Mokuba's life drastically.

First, the drug ring broke up. That was hard, because after Seto's death some eight years before he had thrown himself into heroin. It was an easy way out. He needed escape. But suddenly his skag was gone, and Mokuba had to come out and face the real world. The sudden and complete withdrawl was torture. For a few days he lay in alleys, covered in goosebumps or kicking spastically, sure that he was going to die. Yet after a few weeks, he found the cravings nearly gone. Within a month he was restored. Quitting was easy. It was like switching the lever, "needs heroin" to "doesn't need heroin." Simple.

Second, he saw a news clip on KaibaCorp. Wandering around town, he passed by Circuit City. The rows upon rows of TVs were playing some economic segment, and his brother's skyscraper shimmered in the backround.

He went inside and listened. "...an excellent example of how not to manage money," the show concluded. "The three chairmen's business bungling has completely mutilated KaibaCorp.'s once untouchable monopoly on gaming. After the president's untimely death, everything seemed to fall apart." They continued to other news, blithely unaware of the seed of outrage they had just planted in one viewer.

Mokuba seethed with rage. How dare they? These were the same swine who had sworn Seto's death was either an "accident" (the twelth-story window he had fallen from was six feet off the floor) or a suicide (from Seto? Never). And now they ran his company, his legacy, into the ground? They would pay, he judged grimly. For Seto's death, for the company's death, even for his own near-death in the Domino underworld, he would exact vengance.

He had been living in the shadows since his brother's death so many years before. He was ready to step up and recieve his birthright. In the name of Seto, he would pull the mangled KaibaCorp. back up to the heights of success it once enjoyed. And he would do so _now_.

The third thing was that he met Marcus.

* * *

Marcus was a bit of an odd bird. He was old -- or, at least, he looked old -- but he was full of maniac energy. A wild, wiry sort, Marcus was the one who told Mokuba about the Sennen Items. 

He would never have believed the tales of power beyond measure embedded in seven golden trinkets, but for vague memories of times long past. Battles atop a blimp. Yugi swearing he was an ancient Pharaoh. Pegasus, madman with the Sennen Eye. The Shadow Realm. Pegasus, madman who wanted his wife... the return of the dead...

This train of thought led to others, obvious ones. A gift watched through the keyhole of a huge oak door. Yugi parting with the words "It's yours by right." There was a connection. A thorough search of the house was in order. Six weeks later, Mokuba emerged victorious, clutching both Eye and Rod.

And Marcus was right. They were powerful. Amazingly so.

But what exactly was that power? How could he harness it? What could it to for him? It would take practice to determine their abilities and limits. Lots of practice.

* * *

"Yugi, have you heard about this?" Mai asked from behind the newspaper. "The top three executives of KaibaCorp. all died. Some kind of triple suicide, apparently -- they leapt off a cliff, arm in arm." 

"That's horrible," her husband replied, leaning over her shoulder. "That place has a history of tragedy."

"And Kaiba's little brother is taking over," she read on.

"The kid with the spiky black hair? I haven't seen him in years." He gave his beautiful blonde a peck on the cheeck and turned to the door. "Well, I'll be off now. See you in a couple hours."

"That's right, you've got a board meeting. Well, bye, sweetie." She smiled as he left, then suddenly became more somber. He had a board meeting every morning. Every single day. She couldn't remember once in their life when he had been there to help her wake the children and take them to school. Work, work, always work. Well, she rationalized, he was the president -- co-president, with Duke Devlin -- of Cards 'n' Dice Gaming Co. He was _supposed _to have board meetings. But she, head of advertising, could always manage to schedule _her _meetings in the afternoon.

She stood up to get the kids. The paper lay where she tossed it, face-up with the screaming headline, "Strange Deaths of Multimillionaires." Below was a large picture of three crumpled bodies and three agonized faces.

* * *

"Old man of the desert, I am coming for you," Mokuba hissed through clenched teeth. He and Marcus sat uncomfortably on the plane that would take them to Egypt. 

Mokuba loathed airplanes with every fibre of his being. He forced himself to ignore the sickening lurches as the plane span about him by opening his laptop. Work was an excellent way to distract oneself, and Teso was an excellent bit of work. It was still in the early design phases, but Mokuba could tell that this was going to amaze gamers the world over. His fingers tapped lightly, and the lines of code across the screen quivered.

"Are you certain you know where to find him?" he asked his companion without shifting his eyes.

"I know the general area," Marcus replied wheezily. "Once there, the Rod can lead us to him."

"It had better."

Marcus chuckled. "Of course, of course!"

"If it does not, your head will lose its connection to your shoulders."

Marcus quit chuckling and looked at the younger man out of the corner of his eye, unable to tell if that remark held traces of sarcasm.

Mokuba continued with his work.

* * *

Ch 2 end.

By the way, those are the real heroin withdrawl sypmtoms for someone who's been a heavy taker. The first couple days are pretty much hell, and death is common; after that the cravings virtually disappear. Or so says the internet. I wouldn't bet money on the info.

Next chapter coming soon.

Replies to reviews--

darknessversuslight: Well, gee, that didn't take too long. Hope you'll stick around anyways.

Inuko Metallium: Thanks for the info!

GEWD: Thanks dearie!

Namaarie, Raz


	3. So Little Faith

_Chapter Three_  
So Little Faith

Fortunatly for Marcus, the Rod worked very well indeed. Within minutes of landing on Egyptian sand, Mokuba felt the pull of new Sennen Items. He left Marcus behind, waiting nervous in the airport, twitching like a june bug. Marcus was unessacary.

Many an hour later, Mokuba stood before his adversary. _You are my prey_, he decided venemously.

"Who are you?" the cowering figure whispered. "Why do you have the Sennen Rod and Eye? It should not be this way."

"I quite honestly do not care how you feel things 'should be.' I hold the Eye and Rod, and they tell me that you, too, own Sennen Items. I challenge you to a Shadow Game. When I win, you will add your power to mine, and show me how to unlock the abilities of the Eye."

"I cannot accept these terms."

"You will. Or I shall kill you outright and take your Items anyway." Mokuba grinned ferally, appearing almost fanged in the pale half-light of desert dusk.

"The Items will never submit to an unworthy master."

Laughter devoid of mirth echoed along the sands. "Oh, I _am _worthy."

Shadi shook before this dark power. He was old now -- he was lonely -- he did not know if his Ankh and Scales were enough to defeat the Eye and Rod.

"Come with me, old man," Mokuba growled, and strode off into the harsh desert sands. Shadi could do nothing but follow.

For hours, in fact, he did nothing but follow. It was raw torture. He had lost track of the years, but they had not lost track of him; he was not able to trek on infinitely, as he could in the days of his youth. But the man in front of him was slowing. They had come to a huge, flat-topped rock, maybe three stories tall but many times that in width. A cliff it was, that flew up from the desert floor. And from it hung two thin ropes, like thin grey snakes that writhed in the growing moonlight.

Mokuba walked up and tied one around his waist, then gestured for Shadi to do the same. "When the game begins," he called, voice whipped back and forth by the sandy winds, "we will be pulled up by those who would be willing to save us. Any lack of trust on our part will weaken the rope."

"What?" Shadi began to reply, but Mokuba ignored him, choosing instead to look upwards. Shadi followed his gaze and saw golden figures appear. Someone was reeling in his rope.

One apiece -- not many willing people. It made sense. Shadi had been alone in the desert for thirty, forty years, traveling and learning. He shunned people; he did not make friends. In truth, he was surprised that even one person was willing to save him.

He noted with surprise that he no longer touched the ground. This truly was a Shadow Game, for he felt no discomfort at being held six feet in the air by a thin cord tied around his waist. Even as he watched, the ground fell further. Someone above him was tugging mightily.

But who? Suspicion nagged at him. He tried to place it from his mind. _Any lack of trust on our part... _Who did he trust to dangle him ten, fifteen, twenty feet in the air? He shoved such thoughts to the back of his mind. Twenty feet. It was not a deadly drop.

_Who would be up there?_ he wondered, and watched as a thin fiber of rope began to unwind itself. _No, I trust, I trust! But who? _Curiosity, mere curiousity. Not an intense fear of anyone who he had to trust. Certainly not.

A quick glance sideways showed him that Mokuba was having no such trouble keeping his rope sturdy. He trusted the one who pulled him. But anyone could guess who would save Mokuba from diasaster. Shadi did not know who would protect such a one as himself.

_I have never trusted anyone. _The thought came unbidden to his mind, and he could not banish it as untrue. He had never trusted. To trust was to die. The rope was shredding quickly. Twenty-four feet... twenty-five... He prayed to the gods of ancient Egypt.

All stood still as the rope frayed till a single fiber connected him to the one above. He looked up and found he was close enough to see the one who had fought for him in this strange Shadow Game. Outlined in light, straining to pull the aged Egyptian up a cliff of hard rock, stood his Pharaoh. Gratitude bloomed within Shadi, and, yes, trust, but it was far too late; the rope snapped, and soon he lay on his back in the sands. He moaned.

Cruel laughter fell from the sky, and Mokuba followed in its wake. He grabbed the Ankh and pulled, breaking the chain against Shadi's neck. He pulled the Scales from a conspicuous pocket and transferred them to the safety of his own cloak. "Now, the Eye!" he called. "Show me how to use it!"

Shadi held up his hand weakly, and Mokuba cautiously set the Item in it. Then, in a sudden burst of strength, Shadi sat up and rammed the golden orb into the other man's head. Mokuba screamed in agony, echoes bouncing across the dunes in mocking reply.

Many hours after Mokuba had left, Shadi continued to lie in the sands, letting the winds bury him. Where could he go? His power was his Items. They were -- had been -- his life. It was all he had ever done. Shadi, Guardian of the Sennen Items. No more. No more. He had lost. Not for the first time, but for the highest stakes.

Eventually he rose and headed towards the nearest village. He was, if not wise, then clever. Surely, he had some other skill. Shadi could rebuild his life. Maybe he could form friendships. Perhaps he could even find someone to trust...

Lucky Shadi, eh? It does get more interesting pretty soon; at least I think so. After this comes the end of Bekhura's tale, and you'll be able to follow along afterwards (that is, no more skipping ahead and catching up).

And the r2rs:

snarky: Well, I just wanted it to be clear who was talking. And, seriously, "Yami Bakura" sounds a wee bit doofy. Here ya go!

xXXkIkOkEnxXx: Ahm, your wish is my command, I suppose.

Namaarie, Raz


	4. But to Trust

Just a reminder -- dark thoughts go -thus- and lights think /just so/.

_Chapter Four  
_But To Trust

-Even if there was one up there, I would not trust them,- he hissed in angered reply. -This is madness.-

/But we could.../

"Ready?" the man called mockingly, as if he knew their thoughts. "Game Start!"

Bekhura lashed the rope about himself angrily. Mokuba paid the spirit little attention, prefering to watch the roof. Tiny motes of golden light, memories of his brother, pulled together into solid form and began tugging at the rope. Only here in the Shadow Realm could such a true illusion be found, and Mokuba was not one to waste such comfort while he had it. He had four Sennen Items. The Ring would be his fifth. Then only two more, and the power to return the dead... He was not ready to follow that thought all the way to its end. Not yet._ But soon._

And even while he pondered quietly, the wily part of his mind kept whirring. How long had the game been on? Only a minute or so. He was at least three feet off the ground. How far behind was Bekhura? He forced himself to pull his eyes away from the golden shadow of his lost brother.

His jaw dropped slightly and his eyes opened wide, first in shock and then in anger. Bekhura was halfway up the wall! How? He glanced along his opponent's rope. What... so many people pulling! How? _How? _Where did some long lost tomb robber get such a group? No -- it was not Bekhura -- Bakura! Pulled by a golden host!

Bakura grinned widely upwards at the people who grasped his lifeline. His wife, his daughter Amane, his sullen dark half, and a tiny golden mote that he realized was Miho's yet-unborn child, plus other friends and family, so many he knew not who was who,all straining at the rope and then reaching out bright hands to pull him, grinning, alongside them. He stepped up, into a glorious golden cloud that dissipated, gently, and swirled away as the game ended. Mokuba swang silently from his rope, still far away at the bottom of the wall, toes trailing patterns in the dirt. He untied the rope and stood.

Bekhura took over and slid back down to the ground. "Admit defeat!" he crowed, "And at your own game!" He poised himself, readying the Ring. "Surely, as the loser of a Shadow Game, you won't mind having your soul removed!"

/Bekhura/ Ryou reprimanded sharply.

-Don't bother me right now.-

/Let's not be stealing souls. Just tell him to leave us be, then let him go./

-Are you _mad_? This is my chance to gain _four _Sennen Items. Four! Plus the Ring! With that much power, I could annihalate the Pharaoh!-

/Bekhura, no./

-We would be the ruler of the world. No one could stop us!-

/Though I'm stunned that you said 'we,' I'll still have to AHHHHH/ he shrieked, terror and pain flooding him.

Three voices, two through mindlink and one strong and real, howled in anguish. Bekhura opened his eyes to find blood pouring from his shoulder, skewered through and through by the dagger of the Sennen Rod. "AUYAAAH!" he screamed, animalic, then ignored the pain to turn with blazing eyes to the man before him --

and vaporized, Ryou suddenly thrust into control as Mokuba ripped the Ring from his throat. The Rod was removed, Ryou screeching as he felt the bone splinter and shatter, and suddenly Mokuba was gone.

Ryou Bakura screamed until he could scream no more, and he fell into darkness.

* * *

Stephen Moto, age thirteen, was having difficulty sleeping. He kept having nightmares, the same one every night, about a monstrous wave that ravaged the land. He kept waking up gasping, as if he was about to drown. So now he lay in bed, tossing and turning. 

When floorboards creaked out in the hallway, Stephen froze. Soft steps padded down the hallway, then stopped before the stairs. Stephen stood. He rose from his bed and went to the door, which he opened just the tiniest bit so his dark magenta eyes could peek out. His _father_ was out there -- at this hour? -- walking slowly towards the window at the end of the hall. As Stephen watched, Yugi pulled aside the curtain and roughly shoved the shutters aside, then threw something large and golden out. It looked like that pyramid that Stephen had noticed before, boxed up in the attic. He kept watching, perplexed.

Yugi turned and started coming back down the hall towards his bedroom. He came closer and closer to where Stephen hid, heart pounding at the air of eeriness, and then stepped into a shaft of moonlight that lit up his face. Stephen gasped and tumbled back; his father's eyes were _empty_, as if there was no mind there to guide them. Empty, as if he wasn't there. As if he didn't care, couldn't care, felt neither love nor hatred, nor loss nor joy. Stephen scrambled terrified back towards his bed, breathing hard and praying that his father wouldn't enter the room.

He didn't dream about the wave, oh no. His nightmares that night were about his father chasing him down with empty, scary eyes.

* * *

Ryou won't be getting more than a mention or so in the rest of Resurrection. Sorry, everyone. Same for Bekhura. However, they both play much larger parts in the sequel, if I write it. _Much _larger. 

After this the chapters will be getting longer. We're past the beginning, and the middle's got all the longest parts. The end is more short scenes. Sorry, but it just needs space. They're very seperate.

Man alive, that chapter was fun to write. Must be my dark side.

And r2r--

Umbra: (scratches head) You're absolutely right. Eureka! Description! (starts banging at keyboard) (places hand over heart) I shall do better... this chapter was already typed up before I got your suggestions, but henceforth I'll try to give you more detail. And thanks for noting the plot; trust me, I spent a very long amount of time creating a plot that is like _nothing _anyone -- or at least I -- have ever seen before. (cackles and rubs hands together)

Namaarie, Raz


End file.
